Basic Run Command Information

It is accessible in one of two ways: through the start menu (Figure 1) and through the shortcut keyWin+R.
The dialog itself looks very unassuming, and quite user unfriendly if you ask me (Figure 2).
Its main purpose, as you can see from the dialog information, is to open a program, folder, document, or Internet resource which Windows will then open.

Figure 1 - Run on the Start Menu

Figure 2 - The Run Dialog

Common Tasks with Run

Below are a list of commands you can type into the Run dialog:

Run Calculator

calc

Run Command Prompt

cmd

Run Firefox (if installed)

firefox

Run Internet Explorer

iexplore

Run Microsoft Word (if installed)

winword

Run Microsoft Excel (if installed)

excel

Run Microsoft Outlook (if installed)

outlook

Run Notepad

notepad

Run Wordpad

wordpad

Open Control Panel

control panel

Open Program Files folder

%programfiles%

Shutdown Windows

shutdown

Restart Windows

shutdown -r

Log Off Windows

logoff

Registry Editor

regedit

Task Manager

taskmgr

Windows Update Launches

wupdmgr

Creating Your Own Run Commands

If you are like me, you will use a few programs very frequently.
One way to make them start faster is to give them their own Run command:

Win+R to open the Run dialog

Enter %windir% to open the Windows directory

Alt+F W S to open the File menu, choose the New menu item, then the Shortcut menu item

Go through the wizard to create a shortcut to the desired program

The name you give the shortcut is what you type in the Run dialog to start the program

Infrequently Used Run Commands

Below are a list of commands you can type into the Run dialog, split into several categories: programs, control panels, computer administration tools, and special folders.

Using Run as a Command Prompt

One of the strengths of the Run command is its ability to do almost everything the command line can do.
You should note, however, that if you're running a program that outputs something and exits, that the output will only show up for a few seconds and then disappear.

Take the ipconfig command for example.
If you were to type that into Run, it would open a command prompt, run the ipconfig command, and then close because the command finished running!
To fix this, type cmd into the Run dialog, and then type ipconfig into the command prompt.